


Change of the Mind

by TheAnimeWriterLover



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Ultimate Spider-Man (Cartoon)
Genre: Big Brother!Peter Parker, Family, Family Bonding, Fluff, Friendship, Graphic Description of Abuse Aftermath In First Chapter ONLY, Growing Up, Harry Is Now A Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Or Is It Daddy!Peter Parker?, Past Child Abuse, You'll Have To Wait And See I Guess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-02-07 04:09:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12832986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAnimeWriterLover/pseuds/TheAnimeWriterLover
Summary: 5 years old Harry Potter was rescued from his abusive relatives. He then discovered that he has other relatives, May and Peter Parker, but in America. With an abused mind, soul and body, he was sent there to live with them. How much Harry's presence will change his relatives' lives, especially Peter's?





	1. Chapter 1

Peter Parker was not a normal 16 years old teenager. He was one upon a time, but not anymore. He led two lives: the ordinary and the superhero. In his ordinary life, he was known as the high school geeky student, Peter Parker. Yet, what most people didn't know was that he was Spider-Man. The web-slinging superhero and protector of New York. He had been a superhero for only a little over a few years and it had brought him great adventures and tragedies. 

The teenager sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair in tiresome. He walked alone from school to his house. It was a chilly day for mid-November. It wasn't too bad, but it was uncomfortable. It felt like somebody continued to poke at him and he couldn't get them to stop.

Peter felt his head pound slightly at the thought of earlier that day. He and his team had to protect John-with-too-many-J's-in-his-name, or as he liked to call him, J.J., from the Beetle. Not only was he forced to listen to J.J.'s accusations of him being a criminal, but he also had to protect his female best friend, Mary Jane. She was in the Daily Bugle for an interview. The only good thing was that, in the end of the day, he didn't have to listen to J.J.'s accusations anymore. Even though he protected the man, somewhat, he was still a criminal in his mind. Seriously, Peter could not understand how the old man's mind worked. He guessed that it was better to not know.

The brown-haired young man walked up the street that leads to his house. He lived there with his Aunt May, his only living relative. Peter's mouth straightened in an unpleasant manner, as he remembered his uncle. His tired blue eyes landed on his house, but he stopped at the sight in front of him. There was a car in front of the house, one that he did not recognize. He straightened his back and ran to his house. Once he reached there, he threw the front door open then marched inside.

"Aunt May? What's with the car-?"

The brown headed adolescent stopped in his tracks when he saw an odd sight. His aunt sat in the living room with a middle-aged woman and a child, whom sat between the women. The mysterious woman wore a business suit and small high hills. Her blond hair was put up in a tight bun, not one strain of hair was out of its captivity. She had a stern look on her youthful tanned face. Her brown eyes were hard with a touch of sadness and worrisome. The child looked to be about three. He was small and unnaturally fragile. He wore clothes that were three times too big on him with round broken glasses that were too big for his small face. He looked more like a worn out lifeless doll than a human being. It frightened Peter. Who was this kid?

"Peter, I'm so glad that you're back home."

His Aunt May said in great relief. She was an old, average height woman with white hair and blue eyes. Her face had wrinkled a little from years full of smile and laughter. She was a kind elderly woman with a big heart and a young spirit, though at times she did have her moments.

"Aunt May, what's going on here?"

Her nephew interrogated her once again, as he tried to figure out what was going on. His aunt waved her hand at the mysterious woman as she answered.

"Peter, this is Mrs. Armstrong, a social worker."

Peter frowned in confusion. He sat down on the only armchair that wasn't occupied. This didn't make any sense, and  _why is there a kid here_?

"Why is there a social worker here? You don't abuse me or anything."

"No, but I'm afraid that your cousin here was."

Mrs. Armstrong explained. The small child froze when he realized that the woman spoke about him. He brought his knees close to his chest, almost curling into a ball. It was as if he was afraid that something was going to happen to him. Peter's blue eyes widened at the news. He looked at the shaken child to take some mental notes about his appearance. The mysterious child looked  _nothing_  like him or his aunt.  _He's your cousin you idiot!_  A voice snarled inside Peter's mind. Then the word  _cousin_  finally sank in. The adolescent’s mouth opened a bit in an  _o_  shape.

"I don't understand, since when did I have a cousin? I have only one relative and that's Aunt May."

It didn't make any sense. His aunt would have told him if they had more family members out there... right?

His aunt shook her head. She looked at the child and ran her fingers through his black messy hair, getting a flinch in responds.

"I was surprised too, but it appears that we do have family, but a very distant one." His aunt explained softly, once more looking up at her older nephew. "They live in England."

Okay, that was pretty surprising. He has a family in  _England_?Well, wasn't that something. Peter wished to ask what happened to them, but first he wanted to figure out the name of his newfound cousin.

"What's his name?"

The hardness on Mrs. Armstrong's face broke, being replaced with gentleness. She looked at the unnamed child and placed her hand on his back with care. He flinched at the touch.

"Sweetheart, why don't you introduce yourself?"

Peter looked at the child now, where one thing caught his attention. Once the two males looked at each other, he was in awe. The hue of the eyes that the child had were _emerald_. How that was possible the teenager didn't know. Deep down, he noticed that they held a look that no child should have. They were filled with fear, pain and awareness. It was as if he was a soldier that just came back from war and expected to be attacked any second now. The child looked down at his lap as he mumbled, with a hint of shakiness.

"U-Uncle Vernon and A-Aunt Petunia call m-me f-freak, b-but my name is H-Harry."

At the sound of his true name, the child, Harry, looked a bit cheerful. It was as if he just discovered his name. One that was not meant as an insult and harm. Peter's eyes narrowed.  _Freak_? Why would his relatives call him a freak? That thought made his blood boil in anger. As if his mind was read, Mrs. Armstrong spoke once again with a hard tone.

"He just found out that his name is Harry Potter. We still do not know why, but his aunt and uncle have called him freak for the last 4 years of his life. Ever since he was left with them when he was only a year old."

"Wait a second, he's  _5_?"

Peter stared at the lady in complete shock. His aunt looked disgusted, as if she just ate something foul.

"Those monsters barely fed him! Not only that, but they also physically and emotionally abused him and neglected him for their son."

Harry looked much shaken up now that all eyes were on him. He looked at each one of them in a quick manner, like a wounded, wild animal being pushed into a corner.

"I-I'm sorry!" He choked out. He looked ready to cry, but refused to. Once more he curled into a tight ball. "I-I wasn't a-a good boy. I-I deserved i-it-"

"Harry, those people had no right to do what they did to you. You're a wonderful boy, a strong one at that for going through what you did."

Mrs. Armstrong spoke to him softly. Harry didn't answer. The middle-aged woman sighed deeply. She looked at the relatives with an apologetic, tired, look. She explained to them.

"It's going to be hard for you to look after him, but there-"

"Wait a second! Look after him?" Peter cut her off. He got a stern look from his aunt at the harsh way he made his statement sound. He quickly said to explain his sudden behavior. "Mrs. Armstrong, we have a hard time supporting ourselves. How are we going to be able to support him too?"

"That shouldn't be much of a problem. Harry's parents left him some money to pay for his schooling and extra for anybody that looks after him." The way that she said it made Peter note with interest that something was off. It didn’t help that she continued to look at Harry's forehead. What was that about? "Just go to the main bank and say that you'll need to take out money from Harry Potter's account. They'll take you to a person that looks after his account. Make sure to show them this card."

The blond middle-aged woman then handed to his aunt a card with information printed on it. In the background there was a huge letter 'M' with a stick go through the middle.

"The way that you talk about his parents it sounds like they expected to die early."

Peter finally spoke after a long few moments. His blue eyes once more looked towards the small child. Harry looked like he wished for the couch to open up and swallow him. Mrs. Armstrong waved off his suspicion.

"His parents had a murderer track them down for a while before Harry was born. All you have to know is that they died. This led to Harry being sent to his closest relatives Mr. and Mrs. Dursley." She looked at the two other adults in the room with a blank expression, though her eyes held interest. "After Harry's abuse was discovered, we did a little digging and discovered that he had other relatives, you two."

Satisfied for now, Peter kept his mouth shut and thought about the situation. He half listened to the conversation between the two women. Mrs. Armstrong spoke about the help that was available for Harry to help him move on from his abuse. She gave tips on what to do when Harry was frightened or acted in a weird manner. Then there was the do’s and don'ts and so on. Something wasn't right. Peter didn't need his spider senses to come to that conclusion. That woman held back information, ones that were important. Why did the murderer kill Harry's parents? Was the murderer ever caught? What was so important about the Potters that they had a murderer after them? None of this seemed to add up.

Peter was snapped out of his mind when he saw that Mrs. Armstrong got up from the couch.

"I must be going, it's getting late. I'll have my assistant send you by mail documents about the Dursley's trial that'll happen soon. I'll come back at a more convenient time with a lawyer. If you have any questions just call me."

She handed over another card to his aunt. Aunt May nodded.

"Thank you, Mrs. Armstrong."

The elderly woman said as she got up. Mrs. Armstrong shook her head.

"It is not a problem. Just promise me that you'll look after him, especially if he doesn't turn out to be what you’d expect."

The aunt and nephew looked at her puzzled at the plea. What they didn't expect? What did she mean by that?

With a final farewell, Mrs. Armstrong left. Peter walked over to the windows and pushed away the pale curtains slightly. He looked out of the window towards the front lawn and watched as she got into the unfamiliar car then drove off into the night. Once she was out of sight, he let go of the curtains. The fabric lightly fell into its previous position as if it was never disturbed. His blue eyes looked at the frightened child on the couch, not having moved an inch. Aunt May sat down next to Harry.

"Harry, you'll be sleeping at the guest bedroom-"

She began to speak with gentleness, but was cut off by the frightened child.

"I-I can't! Freaks aren't a-allowed to sleep in beds."

Harry stuttered in pure horror. He looked around him, as if something, or  _somebody_ , was about to come and punish him. Peter frowned. He walked over to kneel in front of his cousin. Though, he had to move with care. He didn’t want to scare the child off.

"Where did you sleep before?"

The 5 years old looked down at his slightly too big worn out shoes, finding them interesting.

"Sweetheart, where did you sleep?"

Aunt May repeated her nephew's question, as she tried not to startle her newfound nephew. Harry mumbled. He still refused to meet their eyes.

"T-The cupboard u-under the s-stairs."

Peter's blood boiled once again. They threw a child into a cupboard and made him think that it was his room? Who did that? Well, apparently those monsters did. He was pretty sure that not even the villains he fought would treat an innocent child like this. The 16-year-old looked at his aunt. He saw how pale she looked, paler than usual.

"Harry, you will not be sleeping in a cupboard while you're living with us.  _Ever_! That is not a place that anybody should sleep in. It's used only to put things in like cleaning supplies."

Peter said firmly. He would not even let the boy near a cupboard if he had to. If anything, to get him to snap out of the routine. Harry snapped his head to look up at his newfound relatives. His emerald eyes widened in shock. They began to water.

"I-I can't! I-I'm a freak!" He objected. Why did these people let him have a bed? Only Dudley was allowed to have a bed aside from his aunt and uncle, because he was a good boy. Didn't they understand that he was a bad boy? A freak at that? "I-I can sleep i-in the cupboard-"

"Nonsense, you're a growing boy. Growing boys should have a comfortable bed to sleep in." Aunt May interrupted the ranting. "Peter is right. You will  _not_  sleep in anything  _but_  a bed while you're living with us."

"B-But it's against the r-rules-"

Harry tried again, but neither of his relatives would have it. Though, they were suspicious when they heard him say 'rules'. Peter looked up at the time.

_8:34_

"Aunt May, I know it's a bit early, but I think it's time to put him into bed."

The elderly woman looked at the time, a look of surprise coloured her face.

"Oh my! You're right." She looked at her younger nephew then her older one with a plea look. "I know you must be tired, but can you help Harry clean up while I go prepare the bed?"

"Of course, Aunt May."

Peter agreed with a bit of hesitation. She was right, he was tired, but not from what she must have thought. Yet, he hesitated because he wasn't sure what to do if the kid started to freak out. Even with advice, nothing could prepare him for what might happen. For all he knew, his cousin could become violent, which the woman warned them about. He wasn't worried about being hurt, but more so for the little boy hurting himself. Peter looked down at his cousin.

Harry looked quite startled at the fact that he was allowed to take a shower. There was a little bit of happiness that bubbled in his heart, something that felt so unfamiliar. He rarely was allowed to get cleaned up unless he got really dirty or he smelled pretty bad. Yet, he was afraid that he'd have to get cleaned with cold water. It hurt his body, especially with all the open wounds.

"Harry, the washroom is on the second floor the first on the right. Get undressed. I'll be right there."

Harry clenched his hands at his sides into tight fists. After a long moment of hesitation, he gave a stiff nod and slowly made his way upstairs in a clumsy manner due to his clothing. The child almost let out a strangled sob, but held the sound back. He didn't want them to hit him if he didn't do as they say. He felt eyes on his back, but he refused to look bac. It was due to pure fear of what they might do to him.

Once he was on the second floor, Peter and Aunt May looked back at each other.

"Does he have any clothes he can change into?"

The teenager asked. He did not bother to point out to the woman about the strange way Harry was acting. He would talk to her about that  _after_  they put Harry into bed. The old woman frowned.

"Mrs. Armstrong brought a small suitcase."

Aunt May walked over to the corner of the couch that hid from view from the position at the doorway. She took out a rather small, worn out suitcase. She put it onto the couch, snapped the clicks and opened the case. She gasped at the sight in front of her. Peter felt a dreadful feeling wash over his body as he walked over. He held back a snarl of disgust at the sight. He took out one piece of clothing at a time. All were three times too big. Some of the clothes were teenage medium size, but from the designs it was made for a child that was overweight. They were all were worn out, ripped with holes and smelled really bad. By the time that they went through the suitcase, there were only a handful of clothing. They were all hand-me-downs.

Never had Peter seen something like this done to a child before. He wasn't naive to child abuse, but he never truly seen one so up close. He threw the clothes back into the suitcase and slammed it shut.

"We'll need to get him new clothes right away."

Peter stated the obvious while he looked at his aunt. Aunt May nodded. 

"I'll take him tomorrow. I'll go look if we still have some of your older clothes."

She told him. She could use that time to bond with the child and figure more things out about his past. The taller young man nodded, though he was somewhat hesitant. He wanted to ask whether she wanted him to join them, but then again he had other things to do.

"All right, I'll go get him cleaned up."

Once he got a nod from his aunt, he left.

It didn't take him long to reach the bathroom. He walked in when Harry began to take his shirt off. His blue eyes stared straight away at the back, which faced him at the moment. There were bruises that were in shapes of adult and child fists, burns and what appeared to be belt marks. Some of the wounds were fresh while the rest looked old. He cringed when he saw the spine, as it appeared clear as day. What else disturbed him were the words that were clearly  _carved_ into the flesh.  _Freak, no good,_   _die_. Those people made him sick! Why would they carve something like that into a child? Once Harry turned around, he once more cringed at how much the older man saw in detail the boy's ribs. His stomach barely existed and looked ready to meet the spine. He looked like a skeleton. Peter cannot believe he was related to such monsters. SHIELD itself better be able to hold him back if he ever met them.

Harry looked up at him startled. He took off the rest of his clothes with haste, so to not get punished for being slow. After he did that, he looked down at his bare feet. He waited for the cold water and pain to come. The little boy listened as the heavy, but somewhat light, footsteps walked past him. A second later the water was turned on. He flinched. He didn't look forward to taking a bath. A few minutes have gone by, the room was completely silent except for the sound of water running.

Finally, it stopped.

Harry was startled when he was picked up,  _gently_ , only to be put into the warm knee-deep water. The 5 years old looked up at his cousin, confused at the unfamiliar behaviour. The teenager could have ordered him to get into the bath. He could have used cold water. Harry didn't get sick, because apparently freaks rarely get sick. Harry nearly cried out in pain when he felt something gently rub against his back. Peter put an arm into the water in front of the child to keep him steady. Without a second thought his arm was wrapped by two small, thin arms.

"I know it hurts, but if we don't clean these fresh wounds they'll get infected."

Peter spoke with gentleness. A bit relaxed when he saw the child didn’t attack him. Yet, his heart clenched at the cries of pain.

"Y-You don't h-have to do t-that. I-I'll be fine."

Harry said in a choked sob voice. He froze in fear. He expected the older male to now smack him across the head for being a cry baby. He flinched when, instead, a hand rubbed his side gently. It was as if it was meant for comfort, something that was foreign for the child. He didn't understand why the teenager would comfort a freak like him. He was being a cry baby. He didn't deserve to be cared for, comforted or loved. He should be grateful that he even had a roof over his head.

"Harry, I will tell you this. Nobody in this house will punish you like those people did. And if somebody hurts you, tell us. You don't deserve this. Do you hear?"

Peter answered his cousin seriously. He meant every word he said.

Harry didn't reply.

Once more, silence filled the room. The only sounds this time were that of scrubbing, a bit of pained sobs and water splashing. It stayed like that for a little while, but was broken when Peter stopped to lean over to pull the plug. He then stood up and went to grab a towel. Harry watched the liquid escape into the hole; redness mixed in. It appears that his fresh wounds bled a bit by the amount of blood that went through. Harry was then picked up once more, only to be put onto the rug. He watched with wide emerald eyes as Peter turned around to the inner closet inside the bathroom. He dug in there for only a minute to take out a red big, fluffy towel. Harry was in awe at how soft it felt compare to the rough rags that his aunt and uncle let him use. He felt so relaxed that not even the pain from his back snapped him out of this heavenly experience.

Peter didn't stop the smile when he saw Harry lean into the towel, much like a little kitten. The brown headed teen walked over to the cupboard under the sink. He opened it only to take out a bottle that said Pero Vap in big letters. He returned to the child, whom stared at the bottle with wide eyes.

"Turn around"

Peter told him. Harry hesitated but did as he was told. Peter looked at the wounds and nodded when he saw that it was only minor wounds that opened. He sprayed the colourless liquid onto the wounds. Once he put a few bandages on, he wrapped the towel slightly tight around the child before picking him up. He headed towards the only guest room in the house.

The guest bedroom was a little decorated. The bedroom's walls were dark green, with a double sized bed in the middle that had the same colored covers. There was a closet that was build inside the room. Then there was one long deep brown drawer that got pushed up against one wall. Other than that, this room was... guestish. It wasn't a real word, but it pretty much summed up what the room looked like. It seems that they would need to buy a few things to make it more personal. Peter stopped at the foot of the bed when he saw some familiar clothes that rested on the covers. They were small, old fashioned and for younger children. They used to be his when he was as small as Harry. He'd need to thank his aunt for finding them later after he put Harry into bed.

Peter put Harry on top of the bed. The child wiggled a bit from the uneven surface, but didn't fall. The kid hugged the warm, soft towel closer to his small frame. He stared with wide eyes once again as his cousin began to dress him in clothes that  _fit_  him for once. He stared in awe at the warmness that they provided. He didn’t care at all that they were made for a younger person, not that he knew. They were better than his Dudley’s clothes any day.

After Peter finished getting him dressed up, he laid him in bed. The teenager watched with a frown at the reactions that he saw over small things. Though, it made sense since it was quite a big difference from the cupboard. Harry began to tear up once again.

"I-I can't sleep h-here. T-This is t-t-too good for me."

"Harry, you deserve to sleep in a bed with clothes that fit. Forget what your aunt and uncle told you." Peter told the little boy. He tugged the child in a bit more, to make sure that he didn't get cold during the night. He took off the large glasses to put them on the night stand to his right. "You're a little boy that should be looked after, treasured. They have no excuse for what they did to you."

Harry cried even more. Peter wasn't sure what to do when he saw that. He thought back to the younger days when he came back home crying. Unsure if it would work, he began to stroke the black messy hair. He hoped that this would work, because if it won't then he didn't know what to do. The last thing that he wanted was for him to freak out and have a frightened child in his hands. Peter paused for only a second as he took note that they would need to take the child to get a haircut soon. Not only that, but he could do with better glasses. Remembering his old glasses, Peter could tell up close that Harry's glasses were more of a toy. If they don't get him real glasses soon, they could damage his eyesight. If they didn’t already, which he hoped that it wasn’t the case.

For a long time, Peter sat at the corner of the bed. He continued to stroke the dark, messy hair until Harry fell asleep from emotional exhaustion.

The brown headed 16 years old got up. He strolled over to the doorway to switch the lights off. Then walked downstairs towards the kitchen, where he knew his aunt must be. Just as he thought, the second he walked into the kitchen he saw the elderly woman shook her head in disbelief. She must have thought of Harry from the puzzled look on her face.

"Aunt May?"

Peter asked. Aunt May snapped out of her thoughts. She looked up at her older nephew with an alarmed look.

"Did you see any wounds on Harry?"

She asked urgently, which received a slow nod in return. He was puzzled that she knew about them. Did that woman tell her or did she suspect from the mention of physical abuse?

"Yes"

"Mrs. Armstrong told me he has nasty wounds all over his body, but he refused to let me see them. Are they as bad as she makes it out to be?"

Peter's face darkened at the memory of what he saw in the bathroom. His jaw tightened, making his teeth squeak a bit at the sudden force.

"Aunt May, he's covered with wounds. Not only are there bruises, but there are also scars." The more he talked the paler the woman looked. "That's not the worst. Those people have carved words into his skin like  _freak_  and even  _die_!"

"Those... those monsters!" His aunt cried out in disbelief. "He's just a little boy."

The two relatives decided to move to the dining room to sit down before the elderly woman collapsed from shock. Neither of the two said anything for a long time. Aunt May buried her face into her hands, hiding the look of disbelief and tears that she shed on the behalf of the child. Peter's hands that rested on the table clenched into tight fists. He felt sick from what he saw. He just could not fathom how people could do something like that. He heard many cases of child abuse, but seeing one was a whole different matter.

One thing for sure, Peter wasn't going to turn the child away after what he saw. Harry needed them, and that was what he would get: a family.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yeah... sorry for taking so long. Too much has happened over the last 6 months. Still does. This is practically my escape from reality right now. Anyways, hope you enjoy this new chapter.

The next day started out with a bright sun and no clouds in the sky. Peter groaned as his alarm went off. Rolling over, he slammed on it, silencing it for once. The young hero was ready to snooze off into dreamland. It had been a long night for him and his aunt. The duo stayed up almost the whole night. They searched on the internet for articles on how to take care of an abused child. It frustrated the young man quite a bit that they simply threw Harry at their direction and walked off. But not before giving that stupid sugary smile that made him want to punch them in the face.

Peter still held a firm belief that villains wouldn’t treat their children like this. Common sense said that the person needed some sort of information before being handed over an abused child. Ideally, they also had experience. But of course, real life said ‘screw you’ to common sense and did whatever it wanted. Well, at least the duo found a lot of information and warnings. One of the first thing that they needed to do was put a lock on the cupboard and closet in the kitchen. At least, anywhere where Harry was used to be thrown into. This would allow him to get out of the habit of crawling back in there if things get rough.

_Sigh_

This wasn’t going to be easy. But if he and Aunt May did things right, it _will_ be worth it. The least they wanted to provide their little relative was a safe environment to live and be loved in. From there, they could build. At least, built upon what they researched. What they found pretty much came down to 6 things.

1) Build a connection with Harry

2) Teach him how to describe his feelings, in some way. Something that they needed to figure out.

3) Be consistent, practically _the_ most important one on the list. At least, in Peter’s opinion. Something that he, personally, needed to work on.

4) Be patient, which was possible. He had plenty of practice from being Spider-Man and having to deal with his current SHIELD group. Especially Nova, that asshole.

5) Make sure that the kid knows that they support him.

6) Finally, teach him what a healthy behaviour was. Thus, led to the conclusion about the lock that he and Aunt May agreed upon hours ago. Something they needed to purchase and install. This included having to come up with some sort of rules to counter those that he grew on.

Seemed simple enough… on paper, that is. Peter knew that he would somehow mess one or more of those things up. He really hoped that he _wouldn’t_ , but what could he do? He was new at this whole thing. The main ending point was to not make things worse than they already were. That was a hard thing to do, as the previous caretakers did everything but sexual abuse. At least there was one thing to be thankful for. Dear God, how would they deal with _that_ on top of the existing list? Never mind the trauma that his poor baby cousin would have for the rest of his life.

With a sigh, Peter rolled himself out of bed and threw on plain clothes. He wasn’t going to school today. Aunt May needed to go to the bank to get everything finalized. Then there was the money that they needed to get for the shopping later. If everything went according to plan, she’d be back by 3. Though, she couldn’t do it if Harry was with her. The poor child looked ready to faint from overload yesterday. There was no saying what would happen if he left the house in his current state. So, his aunt suggested to Peter to stay home. She was to call to the school and let them know that something came up and he couldn’t come. At least not today. Tomorrow, his aunt was going to be the one to look after Harry. They really need to find a caretaker or daycare, which was going to take more than a day. So, it might be common for the next week or two that he might need to take a day or two off school. There was only him and his aunt that could stay with little Harry. Not that the teenager minded. He could ask his best friends Harry and MJ to bring over any homework and notes that he missed. From there, he’d catch up within hours.

A thought made Peter laugh a bit. He has a best friend named Harry and, now, also a baby cousin. This was going to get confusing. He needed to come up with some sort of nicknames for those two to tell them apart. What about _Big Harry_ and _Little Harry_? Stupid, but it worked, now that he thought about it. With a shrug, the adolescent went downstairs to get something made. It was decided to gently ease Little Harry into the heavier food groups. First would be soup, fruits, vegetables and maybe yogurt. Whatever didn’t upset the little one’s stomach too much. After he got used to those, they could add in bread, meat and anything that had fat in it. At least enough to put some sort of muscle back on those bones. Of course, they needed to make an appointment with a doctor to make a better plan. But until they have the money, they had to do things the old fashion way. With their gut and research results.

The main goal was to have the child put on _some_ weight and grow in height. Even a bit would be an accomplishment.

Peter yawned and rubbed his stomach as he walked into the kitchen. Then, he froze. This was _not_ something that he expected. In front of him, his cousin stood on his tip toes. Looking ready to fall off the chair, over the _hot_ , _burning_ stove, frying food. His _5-year-old cousin_ , was making food and looked ready to fall in. There was no denying that his heart stopped beating at the sight. Without even a thought, the adolescent ran over.

“Stop!”

Little Harry didn’t have the chance to react as he was snatched away from his place. His grip on the spatula loosened, allowing the utensil to drop onto the ground. The black headed child looked at the older boy with a panicked expression. As the adrenaline came down, reasoning returned to the elder’s mind. The brown headed adolescent took in a steady inhale, before letting a shaky exhale out of his mouth. With gentleness, he placed the child down. _Right, patient. I need to be_ patient. Peter reminded himself.

“Harry, why are you making food?”

Good, start with the basic, questioning. Emerald eyes looked at the blue pair with confusion.

“I-It’s part of the r-rules…”

Little Harry whimpered as he shook like a leaf. Peter’s heart once more broke. It was like looking at an animal pushed into a corner, fearing for its life. _Note to self: if I ever meet those bastards, maim them. Better yet, hire somebody to assassinate them and hide their bodies._ SHIELD never needed to know about it. Hell, he was sure he could find someone with ease to do this for him.

This was not a good way to start the day. Nor the recovery. Okay, one step at a time. With steadiness, Peter kneeled to his cousin’s height.

“Harry… do you remember what Aunt May and I said yesterday? About the rules your other relatives gave you?”

“Y-Yes”

A whisper replied to his question.

“Alright, good, fantastic. Now, in this household, you are going to follow our rules. Rule number one, is what we said yesterday. You will sleep in a proper bed while living here. Rule number two, you will not cook without somebody watching over you. At least until you are older and only when we believe you will _not_ hurt yourself. Okay?”

Little Harry hesitated before giving a small nod. Almost unnoticeable, but still there. Good, at least they got it out of the way. Peter sighed in relief. He’ll have to share the other rules when the time came. For now, they really needed to eat something. With care, and to make sure the child saw his movements, he picked him up. After placing the child down in one of the chairs, he went to finish making breakfast. Luckily, the food didn’t get burned during the commotion. The only things that needed changing were the spatula and choosing another set of food for the youngest to eat.

Aunt May soon came down. When she looked in the kitchen, she smiled at the scene that greeted her. Her boys sitting down at the table with food in front of them and another plate out for her. Peter was cutting an apple into small pieces. A steaming oatmeal was already provided to the little guy, though he has yet to eat it. Once finished, the adolescent encouraged his cousin to eat them. Though Little Harry was hesitant, he did as he was told. He watched as his older cousin pour him some milk before placing a straw in it. It was hard to imagine that the child only came yesterday. Yet, Peter already looked after him with wisdom and care beyond his years.

Finally, the older woman greeted them.

“Good morning boys”

“Mornin’ Aunt May”

Peter replied after he swallowed a piece of the omelet, not at all surprised at her entrance. He knew she was there for awhile now. Little Harry, though, didn’t. He almost jumped out of his skin. He stared at the woman with wide, emerald eyes. No greeting came from him. The spoon that was in his hand landed back into the oatmeal, untouched. The white-headed woman silently took her seat and watched. Her older nephew was first to frown and remind the child that he needed to eat.

“It’s okay to eat, you know. Nobody is going to take your food away. You need food so you can grow.”

Peter continued to talk from there. His voice a little hurried, but May knew that manner from anywhere. If the young man wanted attention away from a situation, he’d talk nonstop. To distract the other person so that their attention was all on him. It seemed to work. As he talked about different things, Little Harry began to eat again. Slow, but steady. The adolescent gave a gentle push of the milk towards his younger cousin. Not putting too much attention nor providing a verbal command of any kind. The child didn’t even notice as he took the glass and drank from the straw. His hands looked too small and weak against the medium sized cup.

May smiled. Now that she finished breakfast, it was time to leave. She spoke as she placed her plate into the sink.

“Peter,” Her older nephew stopped talking and gave her his entire attention. “I’ll be going to the bank today, like we talked last night. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone for, but I fear it might be by dinner. That means that the shopping trip will have to wait until tomorrow. Now, food is in the fridge, make sure to eat lunch.”

Peter smiled and hummed in agreement. His blue eyes looked at his little cousin, who was too busy concentrating on eating his oatmeal and apples. More so his apples. With a happy satisfying sound. Seems that the little guy now has a favourite fruit. Good to know. Getting up, the teenager followed his aunt to the front door. She already put on her jacket and went to grab her purse.

“We’ll be alright. I’ll call if something comes up.” He paused. His eyebrows twisted inwards as he looked back towards the kitchen. Little Harry has yet to pay attention to them. At least he looked relaxed, for now. Finally, looking up, he whispered. “Do… do you think, it’ll be alright for Harry and MJ to come by? Maybe stay for a bit, if they don’t scare Harry? I know I should have asked before, but-”

Seeing his aunt’s loving smile, Peter relaxed. May raised her eyebrow in amusements at her oldest nephew.

“I don’t mind. Now, I know that we can’t always trust the Internet, but remember what we researched. We want to make Harry feel relax, accepted and safe at his new home.” At this point she frowned as the words now hung in the air. “I know you’re responsible but keep that in mind. If our Harry doesn’t feel comfortable, they have to leave.”

Peter nodded, simply relieved that he didn’t need to hide another secret from his best friends.

“Thanks Aunt May”

With a final farewell, the older woman left.

Peter returned to the kitchen to find Little Harry pouting at the half-eaten bowl. Hearing the other enter, the black headed child looked up. His eyes widened a bit with a spark of fear. The vigilantly didn’t like that look sent his way, or at all.

“What’s the matter?”

He asked. The child curled up, looking surprisingly small in the seat. His arms circled around his folded legs as he curled in on himself.

“I-I’m sorry… I’m full…”

_Oh…_ was the only word that passed through Peter’s mind. His tense body relaxed a bit. At least the food wasn’t bad. He also didn’t look sick from the food or drink. Once more he took care as he picked his little cousin up. Little Harry’s body trembled, trying to somehow hide himself. He shushed the child as gently as he could. Taking care of the wound on the clothed back, his thumb ran slow circles. Many things ran through his mind as reality set in for the third time that morning. This time, reality was that he was alone at home, with an abused and terrified child. This was something completely out of his territory. It was usually Spider-Man that somehow calmed scared children or other victims. It came with the territory if he wanted to save lives.

Peter Parker, however, never had to deal with that… this.

Insecurities from earlier that day crept up on him. _Okay, Parker, take a deep breath. Let the oxygen get into your brain and calm your heart. Last thing you want is to freak out on the kid. Right, scratch that word out. Just. Calm. Down._ Peter took his own advice and inhaled. He half concentrated on his racing heart. The other half tried to keep a calm persona, in hopes his body language helped the child rather than his words.

Little Harry froze, his heart hammered in his ears. He wasn’t sure how to react towards this… what was this? It didn’t hurt. His heart didn’t feel hollow. His head wasn’t spinning in that certain way, where he can’t think straight. Probably for days, or a week, if he was particularly bad or freaky. He wasn’t cold nor lonely. It felt… nice, he guessed. This was so confusing. He wasn’t sure what to do.

Peter’s shoulders heaved a bit at the lack of responds. At least his cousin didn’t tremble anymore. He adjusted his hold on the child and began to clean the table with one hand. The uneaten food and drink were placed in the fridge, where they can be eaten later. The empty and dirty plates were placed in the sink. He’d get them cleaned up later. Once all of that was done, he took his phone out and texted his best friends. Letting them know that he couldn’t come to school today and for them to get him his homework and notes.

Not too soon after, he got worried responds. The corner of Peter’s lips turned upwards. He simply said that he’d let them know once they came over. His only request was for them to stay calm. Probably not the best wording, from the confused/panicked answers, but it’d do. Finally, he sent his team a simple message. He couldn’t come for patrol for the next few days, as it was family emergency. Nothing to be worried about. Hopefully they’d get the hint that he wanted them to stay away for awhile. The last thing he needed was for them to scare his baby cousin. Knowing Sam, he’d screw everything up. The mere thought of it made Peter grit his teeth a little too hard. The team may be warming up to each other, but he still didn’t like the guy.

Once more, he inhaled to calm his mind. Now wouldn’t Daniel be proud of him. Shaking his head, Peter brought his attention back to Little Harry. The child started to relax, but only a bit. The grin disappeared, replaced with a thoughtful look.

It looks like they were going to stay this way for awhile. Perhaps something as simple as this could help the healing process. Could he… could he do this?

-ooOOoo-

Hours came and went. As the two relaxed during that time, Peter put on a couple of Disney movies. Old classics like Cinderella and even the old Fantasia. Personally, the teenager didn’t care for those movies. However, he grew up on them and remembered Uncle Ben loving Fantasia. It was a movie that the family watched together from time to time. Not much anymore, as the brown headed hero grew out of them. However, neither were violent and both were age appropriate. He wasn’t about to put on some of the others where deaths took place. Last thing he needed was for Little Harry to either freak out or shut down.

During this time, Peter took two important notes.

One, it seemed that his little cousin really loved songs and music in general. Something about them made him relax and sway a bit from side to side. Not that he took notice of that himself. The classical songs seemed to help the most. He didn’t even notice he was doing that while sitting on Peter’s lap. It might be one thing that he and his aunt could use to help Little Harry along. Perhaps get a couple of other activities in there while the music played in the background.

The second note that he took still confused him. In Cinderella, magic was used in plain sight. Perhaps a couple of times the word got used. When they did, the child froze and went pale. Peter tried to keep the interrogation as gentle as possible. It worked a bit, because Little Harry mentioned something about another one of those ‘rules’. The M-word was never to be used. The M-word was bad and didn’t exist. As Spider-Man, he had some experiences with magic. It still confused and baffled his scientist mind, but it clearly existed. So, it got him to think. Why would it get banned from _that_ household? What connection did it have to Little Harry? Could it be…?

For now, Peter had to explain to his baby cousin that it was alright. That Cinderella was a movie and the M-word wasn’t bad. He could use it if he wanted to. Little Harry was skeptical, but he didn’t say anything. Saying anything usually led to getting punished. Only afterwards when more music came up did he begin to relax once more. After the movies ended, a CD or two of classical music were popped into the DVD. Once turned on, the music danced across the living room.

By 3 o’clock, Little Harry fell asleep and Peter put him to bed. Making sure the door stayed open, the teenager went back downstairs. As he did so, he stretched arms and back. Stiff from sitting on the couch for so long. He’d need to do more if he wanted to get rid of the rest. Once getting into the living room, that was what he did. A lot of stretching before jumping onto the roof to sit upside down. It helped him relax, okay? He wasn’t too worried that his baby cousin would show up out of nowhere. Kid was in deep sleep.

Time to let Fury know about his lack of superhero involvement for the next few days. As he brought his wrist up to his face, he watched as the camouflage faded away. In its place was a red wrist watch, the S.H.I.E.L.D watch. Once he pressed a button, a familiar black man appeared in the screen.

“So, you finally decided to call. Heard from your team you have a ‘family’s emergency’.”

The man, Fury, raised an eyebrow at the statement. Peter rolled his eyes. He was pretty sure there was a lot more words attached to that statement from the team. More likely than not complaints and annoyance. Dear God, he couldn’t imagine what the next few days were going to be like between him and his team. You’d think they’d stop questioning him by now.

“Yeah, yeah, listen, I’m pretty sure you know more about what’s going on here.”

Probably from the lone camera that watched over the front door. Peter imagined it might have been quite a sight that a small child was brought over and never left.

“Hm…” The man confirmed, “You have the Boy-Who-Lived in your household.”

The teenager stared at his boss for a few moments in silence. He voiced his thoughts out loud.

“What do you mean ‘Boy-Who-Lived’?”

“Harry James Potter, born on July 31st, 1980. Parents, James Potter, a Pureblood wizard and Lily Potter nee Evans, a Muggleborn witch. They were murdered by the Dark Lord on Halloween, 1981. The only survivor was their only son, the Potter heir. He, supposedly, lived after a killing curse was sent his way. Though, nobody is sure how. Not only that, but he, also supposedly, destroyed the Dark Lord. Thus, ending the Wizarding War. Hence the nickname. He’s arguably the most famous wizard in the Wizarding World. His whereabouts were unknown until yesterday when the wizards brought him to you.”

The information was shared in a monotone voice. As if it was well known and repeated numerous times. Knowing Fury, it probably was. Peter’s mouth hung open in shock. Many things raced through his mind, including questions, connections, confirmations and acknowledgement. The young man closed his eyes. The face of his baby cousin, in bed upstairs, asleep, came to mind. A child so terrified of the world around him. Thinking that he was a freak, no thanks to his former caretakers. The ‘M-Word’ rule that came to light not too long ago, made so much sense now. He theorized that those… _monsters_ knew about his magic. Perhaps one of the many reasons, or lack-of, behind their abuse. Yet, there were things that didn’t make sense. He had to find out more.

“Fury, whatever files you have on him, I want to see them. I need to know more about his past and the world he’s from.”

Fury stared at him for a moment before nodding in agreement. He didn’t allow others to order him around, but this was too important. There was no way in hell that he’d allow one of his agents to be handed over one of the most influential figures in recent history. At least, with little to no information and understanding of what they were getting themselves into. It’d be good for everybody involved if Spider-Man, one of the current caretakers, knew what was going on.

“I’ll have Agent Coulson give you the file this evening.”

“Okay. But how much do you know about Harry’s current situation?”

Peter asked. The man snorted.

“We have a whole new pile attached to his file. Ranging from the abuse to what’s happening in court right now. We have a couple of our best lawyers looking into this case. The kid revealed enough that we can work with the information. Don’t worry, Agent, he’s staying with you and your aunt.” Silence settled for a few moments. Enough to allow the superhero to relax at the revelation. He was happy to hear what was being done about those bastards. Hopefully they were going to prison, for life. Now knowing about the lawyers, he believed there was a good chance of it happening. “Listen, we have resources to help with child abused cases. Ask for them if you need them. For now, I’m giving you permission to take days off, but only if it concerns Potter’s health. Understood?”

The glare sent through the watch could make a grown man wet himself, but Peter didn’t. Instead, he snorted in amusements. Trust for there to be a threat emphasized somewhere. Fury was many things, but scary was not always the case. Not wanting to cross the man’s line was more like it. Still, he was thankful for the permission. Last thing he needed was for there to be a villain on the loose and he needed to choose between his cousin and the villain. God, the decision making that superheroes had to do at times.

With a nod, the watch disconnected. Peter looked at the time and saw that only half an hour passed. School has ended, meaning that Harry and MJ were coming over soon. Might as well relax.

Peter had a feeling that the rest of the evening was going to be long.


End file.
